Communities in Phalombe are expected to plant approximately 750 000 trees in various catchment areas by April this year to mitigate environmental degradation that has rocked the disaster prone district.

This was revealed on Thursday during a tree planting event where 1, 000 trees were planted along Khongoloni River in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Jenala in the district.

Speaking in an interview with the Malawi News Agency (MANA), District Forestry Officer (DFO) for Phalombe Donnex Mtambo said his office is looking forward to a 70 percent tree survival rate.

“People now understand that most of the problems that they are facing are due to what they have done to the environment as such they are willing to take part in replenishing it. With their patriotism, we are assured that we will achieve our target,” said Mtambo.

Commenting on the activity, T/A Jenala said it is high time tree planting was taken seriously by communities who in most cases are victims of the effects of environmental degradation.

The traditional leader cited natural disasters such as; dry spells; strong winds and floods that affect his area as valid reasons for quick action.

Currently, communities in the district have planted over 346, 000 Mtangatanga, Glicidia and Nkundi Tree Seedlings in various areas around the district since December last year.-MANA